I read that one reason was that they have lots of seeds and are therefore inherently referential to fertility. I don’t really buy that theory, since many fruits have lots of seeds. I have my own theory, but I’d like to know what I can learn about it from the Teeming Masses. Or even one teeming mass. Any help, dopers?
From Wiki and from what I heard in my Italian household growing up.
Jim
I always heard that it was called a “love apple” because it was considered to be something of an aphrodasiac centuries ago when first imported.
I seem to recall it also being considered poisonous at about the same time.
Somebody add some facts to this confusion please.
Seems there’s a possibility the term is a corruption of pome dei Moro or “Moorish apple”, with some sites stating there’s a connection with Catalan speakers. Because it sounded like pomme d’amour to the French, the name stuck.
When Tomatoes were first introduced to Europe, the varieties grown were the sorts with golden-yellow fruit, so when it was first described by the Italian Botanist Matthiolus in 1544, he called it golden apple, which was later corrupted to pomodoro.
My sources-to-hand don’t say that this was directly connected with the reputation as an aphrodisiac, however, the fruits were generally regarded with great suspicion in Northern Europe, because most of the similar fruits in the solanaceae with which they were familar, are poisonous.
My memory wants to say that the aphrodisiac thing was coined by northern Europeans based on a false correlation between the stereotype of lusty, passionate southern Europeans, and their enthusiastic uptake of the tomato, but I can’t support this idea with any evidence right now.
Not to mention wolf peaches.
*Lycopersicon *comes from the poisoned meat that was thrown out to destroy wolves.
Speaking of wolves, Ice Wolves explanation is the one that I have read. A good example of early spin doctoring.
btw, I may have been because of the name apple-of-love that the tomatoe was not accepted in North America until the 1830s. Should have changed the name to apple-of-fear for this puritan market.